In the Company of Wolves
by Unlucky Rabbit's Foot
Summary: After his early “retirement” from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft, Remus Lupin journeys to Egypt in search of a cure for his furry condition. Throw Severus Snape and a shaggy sack of fleas named Sirius Black into the mix and you’ve got... ((PoA - GoF)
1. I On the Train

In the Company of Wolves  
  
Summary: After his early "retirement" from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft, Remus Lupin journeys to Egypt in search of a cure for his furry condition. Throw Severus Snape and a shaggy sack of fleas named Sirius Black into the mix and you've got -- er, well, I don't know what you've got. But whatever it is, it's a work in progress that takes place between PoA and GoF.  
  
Disclaimer: All characters within belong to J.K. Rowling. No exceptions. You may now put your lawyers back into your pockets. Thank you.  
  
I. On the Train  
  
The dull roar of the Hogwarts Express as it prattled along the enchanted tracks that led back to London made it very difficult for Remus Lupin to sleep his worries away. Tattered robes drawn protectively around his shoulders, the man sat hunched in his seat and tried to swallow down the butterflies that were whizzing around inside his stomach like a pair of angry snitches.  
  
There would be retribution. Of that, Lupin had absolutely no doubt. He'd known the risks when Dumbledore had offered to let him teach Defense Against the Dark Arts. After a year with Harry Potter, there was no question in the ex-Professor's mind that the position was indeed cursed.  
  
Well, Lupin mused, at least he hadn't died or lost his mind, which put him ahead of the last two unfortunate souls to accept the job.  
  
A smile curved his weary lips at the memory of Gilderoy Lockhart stumbling about the Hall of St. Mungo's, ranting and raving about some thing or another.  
  
Smiling. It was a terrible thing. Especially in situations such as this. Lupin clapped one hand over his mouth and groaned, allowing his eyes to momentarily slip shut. He could imagine the disapproval on McGonagall's stern face as she stood akimbo and declared, "Most inappropriate, Mister Lupin!"  
  
Sometimes Lupin forgot that he wasn't a student anymore. It made him uncomfortable to remember that he had been younger than most of the staff by at least half, save for Snape, who had taken it upon himself to make Lupin's second existence at Hogwarts as miserable as possible.  
  
"Something on your mind, Lupin?" drawled a disinterested voice from the other side of the cabin.  
  
Lupin opened his eyes and found himself staring into a face only a little less haggard than his own.  
  
"Nothing that I care to discuss, Severus," Lupin replied politely. "But thank you for your concern."  
  
Snape's lip curled back into a silent sneer as he turned away and fixed his beetle black gaze on the window and the light rain pelting against the glass. A black curtain of greasy black hair hid his contorted facial expression from view, but Lupin was certain that is was a sour one.  
  
He chucked softly and glanced out the window, a wistful sigh parting his lips as he watched the country scenery clip by like a sequence from some estranged dream. Despite all the rumors and warnings that he'd received, Lupin had hoped beyond hope that he, unlike those before him, would have lasted more than a year.  
  
It was lucky for the black-cloaked figure sitting across from him that Remus Lupin was not a vengeful man. Were it not for Severus Snape, Lupin wouldn't have been forced into exile. Were it not for Severus Snape, Lupin would have been able to clear Sirius' name. Were it not for Severus Snape, Harry Potter would have a proper Godfather.  
  
Lupin had every right to land a good solid blow on that shadowed sallow face, no questions asked.  
  
And he would have, were he anybody else.  
  
Prongs would have done it.  
  
Padfoot would have definitely done it.  
  
Wormtail would have.. Well, in the old days, Wormtail might have tried.  
  
Moony would have curled up in a corner and sulked.  
  
Lupin had since matured from a boy into a full-grown man, slender and frail though he was. Not even the toughest of fighters could blame him from wanting to avoid violence at all costs. Grab him the wrong the way and you risked snapping him like a twig.  
  
But, there were those few days a month when..  
  
"Lupin?"  
  
Lupin lifted his head, eyelids heavy as he forced a smile for his companion. "Hm?"  
  
Snape frowned. "We've stopped."  
  
Lupin rubbed tiredly at the corners of his eyes and looked outside again. His ears told him that the engines had long since come to a grinding halt, but his eyes wanted to confirm the situation for themselves. The world finally came into a focus and a bustling view of Platform 9 ¾ greeted them. "Have we now? Terribly sorry, Severus. I was woolgathering. It's an awful habit of mine, I'm afraid."  
  
Snape grunted his reply as he scooped up his trunk and Lupin's, sinewy arms outstretched to help support the weight. A few moments and a squealing bump later, he let out a startled cry and dropped them both, narrowly avoiding his toes.  
  
"Lupin!" he snarled as Lupin's trunk began to shake violently and bounce around the cabin. "What the bloody hell are you trying to smuggle out of the school?"  
  
Lupin grinned despite himself. "Just another boggart," he replied tersely. "Minerva found this one under your bed just before it was time to pack up. I did you the service of removing it." There was an uncomfortable pause and Lupin's grin broadened. He waggled his eyebrows. "All I want to know is why she was in your bedroom to start with."  
  
Snape, though he was quite livid, managed to keep his temper in check. He clamped his mouth into an angry line and shook his head. "That," he ground out, "is none of your business."  
  
Somehow, Lupin couldn't imagine the brooding Potions Master having a fling with the head of Gryffindor house, no matter how brief.  
  
"I'm sorry, Severus," he said, lacking sincerity for the first time in a long time. "But you're too easy to tease."  
  
Thoroughly annoyed, Snape bestowed a sharp kick to the side of Lupin's trunk, shutting the boggart up for a few precious moments so he could hoist it back up into his arms. "I could do with a cart when we get off the train," he bit out.  
  
"Of course."  
  
Lupin slid out of the cabin and into the hallway. Most of the students had already rejoined their parents on the platform, but there were bound to be a few stragglers here and there. He spotted Neville Longbottom mumbling reassurances to his pet toad as he gathered up of a few of his school things that had managed to spill into the floor. Hands planted on the doorframe, Lupin blocked the soon-to-be-forth-year from Snape's line of sight until things were back in order. The last thing he wanted to do was leave the poor boy vulnerable to the Potion Master's easily induced wrath.  
  
As soon as Neville had hopped off the train, Lupin moved aside and allowed Snape through, dipping into a courteously mocking bow.  
  
"After you." 


	2. II Of Pink Bubbles and Parrots

II. Of Pink Bubbles and Parrots  
  
The wizarding world may have changed in the last thirteen years, but praise Merlin, The Leaky Cauldron hadn't. Lupin breathed in the slightly smoky air and trotted cheerfully up the stairs, keys to his rented room in hand. He could hear Snape struggling with the trunks behind him.  
  
Revenge, tame as it might have been, was sweet.  
  
"You can leave my trunk at the top, Severus," Lupin called down. "I'm capable of taking it the rest of the way."  
  
"Think nothing of it," came the bitter reply. "I have my own to carry up after yours."  
  
Lupin froze and felt a familiar sinking sensation in the pit of his stomach. "What?"  
  
He could hear Snape pause in the middle of the stairs to catch his breath, cloaked shoulders heaving as he wiped at the invisible droplets of sweat dotting his brow. When he didn't reply, Lupin whirled around and skewered Snape with a glare.  
  
"What do you mean you have to carry yours up after mine?" he demanded, hating the tremor in his voice.  
  
"Albus was quite insistent," Snape replied, drawing himself up to his full height as a pair of house elves came scampering up to his assistance. With the greatest of ease, they lifted the trunks onto their backs and took the rest of the stairs at a leap, bounding up, up, up. They didn't seem the least phased by the boggart pounding from the inside of Lupin's belongings.  
  
Lupin arched an eyebrow, forcing himself to keep a straight face with Snape mimicked the gesture. "Albus?"  
  
Snape nodded. "When you told him of your, ah," he paused, as if mentally groping for the right words, "your, ah, intentions, he asked me to accompany you. Believe me when I say that I won't be enjoying this escapade any more than you will."  
  
"I don't want your help, Severus."  
  
"It's not a matter of wanting," Snape drawled as he ascended to meet Lupin. "It's a matter of needing. Albus wouldn't have requested this task of me unless he saw it to be absolutely necessary."  
  
He reached the top step and peered down at Lupin from behind his long black bangs. Breath foul and rank forced the ex-Professor to take several steps back. Intimidation. He hated this game.  
  
"I don't need your help either," Lupin snapped. "I'm capable of taking care of myself."  
  
A knowing smile threatened to overturn Snape's permanent scowl. "That's not quite the way that I remember things," he said coolly. "My room is adjacent to yours. If you need anything, please don't feel compelled to come knocking."  
  
Without another word, Snape produced another set of keys from his robes and glided around the corner. Several moments later a door slammed shut and the house elves were sent scurrying.  
  
Lupin was angry. It wasn't often that he felt the rage bubbling up inside him. More frustrating than the emotion itself was his lack of control over it. Knuckles whitening, Lupin balled his hand into a fist so tight that his blood vessels looked as though they were about to pop.  
  
Severus Snape, he decided, was the greatest bastard of them all.  
  
"Have a nice night!" Lupin screamed down the hall. Naturally, there came no reply, not even when the "Snivellus!" tore out of his throat.  
  
"Mister Lupin, sir?"  
  
Lupin dropped his gaze to the cowering house elf dressed in a patchy potato that was presently latched onto his leg. "Yes?"  
  
"Does Mister Lupin want Feenk to show him to his room, sir?" the house elf asked.  
  
The blood drained from Lupin's face as he forced a smile. "That would make me very happy," he said with a slight nod. The house elf's eyes lit up and the last signs of Lupin's anger vanished completely. "Lead on."  
  
Down the hall and around the corner they went, stopping only once they reached a door with a lopsided sign hanging off the knob which proudly proclaimed: "Room 15", big and bold. Lupin thanked the house elf, turned the key and stepped inside.  
  
The room was simple, but comfortable in furnishings. A large canopied four- poster bed done in red velvet and satin sat along the back wall, while its heavy canopy and curtains hung from golden rods. That the colours were exactly the same as Gryffindor's did not escape him. Lupin imagined that Snape's room had been done up in silver and green as well.  
  
Next to the bed was a small table with a water pitcher and a glowing lamp, the room's only source of light. Against one wall, an intricately carved armoire stood ready with a set of brand new robes. To its right was an antechamber (a bathroom of some sort, Lupin surmised).  
  
It was classy. Too classy.  
  
Lupin frowned. When Dumbledore had told him that the school had taken care of his living arrangements until he was back on his feet, he'd been expecting something more suited to his own budget.  
  
He turned to tell the house elf so, but it had already gone.  
  
Well, Lupin thought, if I can't afford it, I should at least enjoy it.  
  
~*~  
  
Twenty minutes later, Remus Lupin was completely submerged in a pink- foaming bubble bath. The warmth of the water soaked into his soul and the potions in the bubbles left him feeling dizzy, light headed and vaguely smelling of strawberries.  
  
For the moment, Remus Lupin didn't have a care in the world. The enchanted bathtub, with its plain brass fixtures and dragon claw feet, scrubbed at his neck and back.  
  
"That's the spot," Lupin fairly purred. Though the bathtub could not reply in words, it scrubbed just a little bit harder.  
  
Lupin was so engrossed in the tub's attention that he didn't hear the knocking until after the fifth rap. He looked toward the door, glaring as much as his blissful state would allow and called out, "Go away, Severus!"  
  
The knocking started up again and Lupin realized that the sound was coming from his bathroom window, and not the door to the room itself. Ignoring all the alarms bells sounding in his head, Lupin rose from the bath, shivering as the water rolled off his gaunt body and rejoined its collective mass. His hand found the handle and he gave it a sharp tug. The window blew open and a parrot came fluttering in, squawking loudly as it circled and searched desperately for a place to land.  
  
Bewildered, Lupin thrust his arm out in offering and watched with wide frightened eyes as the parrot eagerly accepted the makeshift perch. It was then that he noticed the piece of parchment tied to the bird's leg.  
  
"Hush up," he grumbled at the noisy bird as he pulled the parchment free and unfolded it. He'd heard of the Owl Post, but Parrot Post?  
  
Lupin drew in a sharp breath as the parrot dug its sharp little feet into his arm and began to read:  
  
"Moony,  
  
I have to keep this short as I'm on the move and can't spare a minute. If the Ministry catches up to me, this will all have been for nothing. I don't blame you for what happened that night. If anyone, it's that insufferable git Snape who should have been sacked and not yourself. Dumbledore informed me of your plans to find a cure for your condition. I have to say that Egypt isn't the first place I'd have looked, but you and I never really did think alike, did we? When are you leaving, and how do you plan to get there? Please respond, and keep an eye out for large black dogs.  
  
As always, Padfoot"  
  
Lupin's face burst into a broad smile.  
  
Sirius.  
  
With a hoot of joy, he sprung from the bathtub and wrapped a fluffy white towel around his lower body before skidding off into his bedroom to immediately pen his reply. 


End file.
